Regional Outlook 2025: Navigating Growth and Innovation in North Wales

Can North Wales Lead on Wales’ AI Revolution?

With Artificial Intelligence (AI) set to drive economic growth and reshape business landscapes, host Carwyn Jones is joined by Alwen Williams of Ambition North Wales, Ben Lucas of Amundi Technology and Glyn Jones, Welsh Government’s chief digital officer, to consider whether North Wales is in a prime position to lead Wales' AI revolution.

Powering Growth: The Wrexham & Flintshire Investment Zone, Ambition North Wales, and Entrepreneur Support

Host Carwyn Jones is joined by Alwen Williams of Ambition North Wales, Gary Hall of FI Real Estate Management and Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE of Ideas Forums to discuss the economic growth potential of the Wrexham and Flintshire Investment Zone and other key initiatives in the region including a new scheme to support early-state entrepreneurs.

Regional Outlook 2025: Navigating Growth and Innovation in North Wales

North Wales is known for its diverse industries - from tourism and manufacturing to renewable energy and agriculture. Host Carwyn Jones is joined by Prof Joe Yates, Vice-Chancellor of Wrexham University; Claire Davies, Deputy Chair of West Cheshire & North Wales Chamber of Commerce; and Hedd Vaughan-Evans, Head of Operations at Ambition North Wales, to explore the key economic drivers, investment opportunities, innovations and infrastructure projects likely to shape the region’s growth in 2025.

Ambition North Wales

What does the work of Ambition North Wales mean for the economy of the region? Host Carwyn Jones is joined by Alwen Williams, Interim Chief Executive of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee; Dr Edward Jones, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor University; and Sioned Williams, Chair of the Ambition North Wales Portfolio Board to discuss the initiative's aims, its collaboration with partners and what it could achieve in the long-term.

The Future of High Value Manufacturing in North Wales

Carwyn Jones and guests Andy Silcox, Research Director at AMRC and Professor Anne Nortcliffe, Dean of Faculty of Arts, Computing and Engineering at Wrexham University, focus on the future of high value manufacturing in North Wales and the significance of adopting new technologies to stay competitive. They explore the roles of automation, digitalisation, and industry 4.0 technologies, as well as the importance of high-value products in sectors such as aerospace, food manufacturing, and green energy.